characters-of-warcraft
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Yrel, the Light of Hope, comes to Characters of Warcraft page
One of the things I personally love about Warlords of Draenor is the spotlight it puts on the draenei, and new characters like Yrel really give that spotlight emphasis. Yrel is one of the draenei who serves as a synecdoche for the whole expansion - what she experiences is what the draenei as a whole have experienced and what they will experience if she does not succeed. It's what fascinates me about her, about how she is the road not taken, the path that didn't succeed in our history. If you want more details on Yrel, the spiffy new page for her is up here. But to really get to know her, you're going to have to play through Warlords of Draenor (specifically on the Alliance side, for the most part) and I for one recommend it. Yrel is an excellent draenei face character, one who showcases the race's forgiveness, determination and courage.
Characters of Warcraft updates with Velen, Archmage Khadgar
The Characters of Warcraft page is a useful one to keep abreast of what's coming in the Warlords of Draenor expansion. Recent updates have made it more so, with focus on Velen and Archmage Khadgar. The focus on each character explains their roles in the expansion to come (for example, how Velen has responded to the Iron Horde) and how they're involved in the story of the expansion. I'm excited to see some mention of Khadgar's having been aged by magic, although it's not really reflected in his current model - if anything he looks younger now than he did in the Burning Crusade days. If you're looking to get a sense of who the people we'll be dealing with when we get to Draenor are, the Characters of Warcraft page and these updates definitely offer some help.
Characters of Warcraft updates with Blackhand
Yesterday's comic reveal also brought about a new addition to the Characters of Warcraft section of the official website. Blackhand, Warlord of the Blackrock clan has gotten his own entry on the mini-encyclopedia, along with a full size wallpaper with art by Alex Horley. In our version of history, Blackhand's story is fairly different than what we'll be seeing on Draenor. He was appointed the first Warchief of the Old Horde, and later killed and replaced by his second-in-command, Orgrim Doomhammer. Powerful, yes, but also very much the pawn of Gul'dan. On Draenor, Blackhand is not the leader of the Iron Horde -- but he was the first to join with Grommash Hellscream, and immediately set to work creating armor and powerful weaponry for the Iron Horde's armies. He might not be the appointed leader we remember, but he's certainly a force to be reckoned with in his own right. You can take a look at the full entry for more information on Blackhand, and while you're there, pick up the wallpaper and download the new comic as well.
Characters of Warcraft updates with Lords of War cast
The short animated series Lords of War reached its conclusion earlier this week, wrapping things up with a short tale featuring Vindicator Maraad. If you haven't had quite enough of the characters featured in the series, Blizzard has also updated the Characters of Warcraft section of the official site with pages featuring all of the players in Lords of War. Kargath, Grommash, Durotan, Kilroggm and Maraad all have new pages with character history expanded a little beyond what we've seen in Lords of War. In addition to the background information and history, each page also includes a brand-new wallpaper with the featured character, and links to related content. Hopefully we'll see other entries added over time for the other orc warlords featured in the next expansion -- and more entries on the draenei residents of Draenor as well. I'd love to see pages for Akama, Nobundo, and Yrel, as well as this Draenor's version of Velen, and some of the other notable draenei we'll be adventuring alongside in the next expansion. If you liked Lords of War and you'd like to learn more, head to the official site and check out the new entries.
Warlords of Draenor: Kargath Bladefist character page added
Blizzard has added a new page to their Characters of Warcraft lore section on the official site, just in time for the launch of Lords of War. This time, the focus is on Kargath Bladefist, Warlord of the Shattered Hand and the first orc to be featured in the new web series. Along with a little summary of just who Kargath is, there's a little background on the Shattered Hand as well -- not just their origins, but how they operate on Draenor today. In addition, there's a cool new wallpaper featuring Kargath doing what he does best and slaughtering an ogre in an arena. It's entirely likely we'll see new warlords added with each new episode of Lords of War -- although I'm still holding out for a page featuring Maraad, or Kargath, or even Yrel. Check out the page for more information on Bladefist and his clan -- and keep your eyes peeled for more from the lore team as preparation for the expansion's release continues.
Characters of Warcraft updates with Mists, Hearthstone heroes
A new selection of characters have been added to Blizzard's Characters of Warcraft page on the official website. For those unfamiliar with the page, it's a collection of brief profiles on various figures in Warcraft lore, featuring a little background information, artwork, screenshots, and links to related characters and pertinent short stories or fiction that involves the featured character. In other words, it's a pretty handy little quick reference guide for those wondering who's who in lore. The new additions include heroes from Mists of Pandaria such as Shaohao, Sunwalker Dezco, Taran Zhu and more. In addition, players can now find profiles for heroes that have been featured in Hearthstone's class decks. It's a pretty good addition, particularly for characters like Valeera Sanguinar, who plays a prominent role as the representative rogue deck in Hearthstone, but doesn't really feature all that much in World of Warcraft itself. I was also happy to see both Uther and Rexxar have been added as well. Although the Characters of Warcraft page is by no means complete just yet, the new batch of updates is pretty reassuring to see. Hopefully it's an indicator that this feature won't be left in the dust, and will continue to be updated and filled out with characters that are both pertinent to the expansions we're currently playing, and those that have were important in expansions past as well. Check out the page for the new additions, and while you're there, don't forget to look for short stories you may have missed along the way.
